Porto studio Dyvik Kahlen Architects has topped a pavilion in Oslo with a turf roof for growing edible plants to mark the New Nordic exhibition at the National Museum of Norway.
The pavilion, which is set within the courtyard of the Kleihues + Schuwerk-designed museum, is designed as an extension of the current New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place exhibition.
The pavilion forms part of the New Nordic exhibition at the National Museum of Norway
The pavilion has a mono-pitch steel roof topped with turf, which is being used to grow edible plants.
This roof is raised on a scaffold-like timber structure supported by a large mound of earth.
The angled roof is supported on a scaffold-like structure
“The pavilion is a spatial interpretation of New Nordic Cuisine where architecture, landscape and food merge into a sensory visitor experience in the form of touch, smell, smoke, and taste,” said Dyvik Kahlen Architects co-founder Christopher Dyvik.
“The construction is carefully balanced where the weight of the forest terrain counteracts the large sloped roof and keeps everything in balance,” he told Dezeen.
It shelters an open hearth
The roof is planted with vegetation found in Oslo’s coastal areas, including sea kale, angelica and wild garlic, and will continue to grow throughout the exhibition.
Meanwhile, the earth mound, described by the studio as a “hilly natural landscape”, is planted with rowan, heather, pine and ramson.
Below the roof, the studio created an enclosed oven and open hearth for demonstrations during the exhibition, which focuses on New Nordic Cuisine – the culinary movement that emerged in the Nordic countries in the early 2000s, which has since influenced other cultural trends.
Along with physical demonstrations, Dyvik believes the physical structure communicates the ideals of the exhibition. There is also a root cellar and timber seating.
Edible plants are being grown on the roof
“The use of materials suggests a fine balance between tradition and innovation, the tactile and the highly technical, precise cuisine celebrated in the exhibition,” Dyvik said.
“Just as the food movement is anchored in place, seasonality and craftsmanship, the structure draws on native materials, edible plants, and traditional forms of food storage and preparation,” he continued.
“The root cellar is typically used throughout the Nordic countries to store, dry or ferment food to last throughout the long winters, while the local coastal landscape and forest terrain offer edible plants such as sea kale, angelica, wild garlic, rowan and ramson, elements often used in the New Nordic cuisine.”
The pavilion is located in the courtyard of the National Museum of Norway
Following the exhibition, the pavilion is set to be dismantled, with the landscaping replanted and the materials reused by students at the Oslo School of Architecture.
The pavilion will host events throughout the run of the exhibition. Dyvik hopes that it will demonstrate alternative uses for public space.
“In a time when many urban environments feel increasingly disconnected from nature, we hope that the pavilion proposes an alternative public space shaped by local materials, edible plants, and a shared cultural memory,” he said.
Other recent pavilions on Dezeen include the Serpentine Pavilion in London by Marina Tabassum and Peter Cook’s neighbouring Lego pavilion, while in China, DoDesign made a pavilion from imitation stone.
The photography is by Ina Wesenberg.
New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place runs from the 14 May to 14 September 2025 at the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. See Dezeen Events Guide for more events taking place in the Danish capital and elsewhere around the world.
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